U.K. Pat. No. 1440682 for example, discloses one such single screw extruder for mixing and homogenising viscous materials wherein the extrusion zone of the extruder comprises a screw having two discontinuous flights enclosed in an extruder barrel containing a series of obstacles projecting from the sides thereof towards the root of the screw. The interruption of the flights thus provides channels at the root of the screw into which the series of obstacles project. Each series of obstacles comprises eight obstacles distributed around the circumference of the barrel.
As a result of extensive wear of the internal surface of the extruder barrel caused by abrasion and wear as the flights convey the material to be homogenised through the extrusion chamber, it is common practice to provide a very hard and wear-resistant lining. Such linings may be of bi-metallic material and are very brittle. They are also very expensive to produce. For those extruders heretoforeknown comprising obstacles projecting into the extrusion chamber, it is necessary to drill holes through both the sides of the barrel and the hard lining material so that the obstacles may be inserted into the holes thus provided and secured therein by fastening means. Drilling of holes through the lining is difficult if damage to the lining is to be avoided; damage to the lining can lead to unsatisfactory performance and, if severe, may necessitate provision of a new lining.
As a result of breakage of one or more of the obstacles, thus requiring replacement thereof, or wear or damage to the lining material, it is commonly necessary to replace the lining material and/or obstacles. Such a process is time consuming and laborious, involving removing the lining from the barrel (also, if any of the obstacles have been bent, removing and replacing these may be a problem), providing a new lining in replacement and furthermore drilling holes in the lining to accommodate the obstacles. In a large bore extruder this may prove to be very expensive both in capital outlay and lost production time.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved extruder which may be assembled and dismantled easily for replacement of inner parts.